The “Concerned Bermudians” group who organized the demonstration today had requested that “officials and members of the One Bermuda Alliance cease and desist calling Bermudians xenophobic.”

The Premier started the press conference off with explaining the Government’s decision to eliminate term limits. He said he recognizes the fears that some Bermudians have as he has talked to many Bermudians who want to get back to work. “We have too many Bermudians who are unemployed,” he noted.

The full video of the Premier’s press conference:

Saying that the work permit policy is in place to protect Bermudian jobs, the Premier said term limits created an unwelcome atmosphere for international business, and that we want to get those job creators and investors back to Bermuda.

He said the Government’s priority is getting Bermuda back to work, and they “have to be decisive.” Premier Cannonier said, “We will work to ensure Bermudians are put first, and that no one is left behind.”

He was asked about the use of the word xenophobia, and in reply said, “When I heard that the word xenophobia had come up…I recognize that is not a word that should be placed in politics, especially the people of Bermuda who are such a melting pot of people.

“I apologize for that word being used, and we will continue to ensure that our elected members avoid using words like xenophobia.” said the Premier.

“It is a fear of foreigners, but we need not fear foreigners…that is a relationship that we have forged from day one. In fact you can just go back with yourselves…one generation, two generations..we were all basically imported to Bermuda.”

“We believe the reason they went ahead with putting the Policy in place was to pander to the xenophobic views of those Bermudians who would like Bermuda to be foreigner-free,” said Mr Branco.

A statement issued shortly thereafter from the PLP said, “We call upon Mr. Branco to retract this statement immediately and lower his tone towards the PLP and its family of supporters.”

“The salient facts remain, the OBA promised time over time that they will only suspend, with a look to review. They also promised transparency. They did not mention anything about calling PLP supporters xenophobic,” the PLP said.

You can view all our coverage of today’s demonstration here, and coverage of the elimination of term limits and the subsequent discussions here.

Update: The video of Minister Fahy’s remarks is above. He said he regrets the way his comments were interpreted, however he said they were taken out of context. He went to say he will do everything within his power to see that Bermudians are employed.

I am Amazed! first that the Premier stood out and listed to the people and explained the reasoning behind their decision and secondly apologized on behalf of his team for the use of a word that should not have been used - now that is what we call leadership (accepting errors, owning up and apologizing).

please, people of Bermuda let's now come together and get Bermuda back to where it should be.

He's not backing off of anything; he defended the policy reversal today, and rightly so. He's apologizing for the fact that people have had their feelings hurt in the process and aren't comfortable with the change. He's being the bigger man.

The Premier should have told those xenophobic clowns to "F" off. The protesters were clearly old school plp supporters who haven't a clue about what they were marching about. And for the record, I'm a black, born and raised grass roots Bermudian who grew up in the struggle. But, now I have seen the light and can see the PLP, BIU and their supporters as not having the best interests of Bermuda but rather their own.

agree with you 100% RawOnion once you saw Laverne Furbert standing next to the microphone you knew this was a BIU event nothing more nothing less..I am surprised there were not more there since the BIU has so many unemployed members thanks to their Government

Recall that this ill-chosen word came not from a member of the government but from a party official. A lot of fuss over a poorly-worded statement by essentially a private citizen. Still, a sensible move for Cannonier to disclaim it.

So much hypocrisy from the PLP though. Do they forget the choice language used by Col Burch (a CABINET MEMBER) to callers he did not care for on his talk show?

It is just so amusing how you all want to sing kumbaya after every uncomfortable interaction. It's not that simple folks. There are political consequences for things like this and they must be paid. "We had to deceive you" follows Ewart to this day and rightly so. It is obvious that the events of today shook up the Premier and rightly so. The unfortunate thing is that this apology by the Premier is on behalf of his core supporters. This is what they think, this is what they feel and this is who they are. Before the election they were on full display and they continue to do their worst, calling PLP supporters stupid and telling people who oppose them that they just don't understand the facts. The Premier will spend his tenure apologizing for them because he leads a Party so out of step with the mainstream that these scary elements will always be front and centre. That statement from Branco wasn't issued willy nilly; it was drafted, edited, considered and then issued. It was deliberate and whoever wrote it meant it. This is the biggest task confronting the Premier, dealing with the core of his Party and keeping the lid on them so that the people of Bermuda don't realize who they really are.

Hmmmm - I don't believe the Premier was "shook up" by the events of today at all. You have to choose your battles; or you risk undermining everything you are trying to accomplish for this country; if it means saying sorry to a group of people who really showed thier worst side today, if that's what it takes to move on, then so be it.

And when have you EVER heard any leader or MP apologize for anything during their 14-year administration - and there were many, many cases when an apology was warranted, but not given.

If any party if out of step with mainstream, its the PLP, not the OBA. The actions, and the words from their representatives, speak for themselves.

In my view, Cannonier was wrong to apologise.. There are some xenophobic Bermudians who not only fear but actively abuse and dislike foreigners. He called them on their bul%^$it and he should have told them to f&$k off today.

And to march against the "removal of term limits" demonstrates a fundmental lack of understanding of hte issues facing Bermuda. Perhaps if these knuckledraggers had been so concerned over the last 14 years then we wouldn't be in quite the mess. Where were they when we marched for equal rights for all in our community when we were called a lynch mob? Shame on them.

The only people who should be apologising are the PLP, and repeatedly. What a disgrace and failure they have been. Shame on them.

@ Sandgrownan ... Please make clear who "these knuckledraggers" are . Do they resemble Premier Cannonier ,or Minister Dunkerley . As born Bermudians are related in some way , it will be very interesting to know from you , who these "knuckledraggers" may be kin to . Also can you make it clear if you've ever dealt with or have friends or family who maybe a "knuckledragger" .

Brilliant insight to this matter Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Well put, I think yor right in this regard! Will be interesting moving forward, too many folks in OBA are power hungry, and they will knock heads sooner or later.

"Before the election they were on full display and they continue to do their worst..."

Yet the OBA was elected, and won the popular vote. If they were on full display, then certainly people knew exactly what they voting for, no?

"...he leads a Party so out of step with the mainstream that these scary elements will always be front and centre"

Again, his party won the election with a majority of votes cast. How can that be out of step with the mainstream? Or do you think the 100 or so scary elements of yesterday are the mainstream?

"That statement from Branco wasn’t issued willy nilly; it was drafted, edited, considered and then issued. It was deliberate and whoever wrote it meant it."

Absolutely, and Branco's statement was about how term limits were an instance of pandering to those Bermudians that are xenophobic. It does not in any way, shape or form call all Bermudians xenophobic. But his words have clearly been twisted to fit an agenda.

And that agenda can be characterized as many things, but it cannot be characterized as mainstream.

"...keeping the lid on them so that the people of Bermuda don’t realize who they really are."

But you do, right? You can figure out who they really are. Interesting; I wonder how that knowledge comes to you. I wonder if you know who they really are, or if you wish them to be something they aren't, to better fit your agenda.

What a sad state of affairs. The people have spoken. Not just the 100 or so yesterday, but many thousands in December. They are not part of the spin game that's being played here. Yet there are those, deliberately, who misinform and play on the ignorance of others for their own purposes.

I think its more than the actual word used by Mr. Fahy or Branco. There is a real fear that the OBA have opened the floodgates to the low wage workers from overseas, thus causing even more Bermudians to lose their jobs.

Whilst i appreciate that IB can and will have a positive effect on the workplace and job/ job creation there has to be a balance.

Years ago it was Four Star Pizza that had foreigners delivering pizzas in addition to working in all their stores.

Now I see foreiners driving trucks for recycled trash, fix a flat, stacking shelves at Arnolds, Buzz Restaurant just to name a few.

So if you would have me to believe that no Bermudian is qualified for any of these jobs were cheap foreign labor is.

Thats part of the frustation. I am sure that the majority of these people speak poor english and have little or no education.

Not everyone will be a Dr. or Lawyer or CEO but for those middle to lower end jobs must be protected for the Bermudians.

Stop complaining for 1 Second: Has it ever occured to you that those 'foreigners' you see stocking shelves at Arnold's, working at Buzz or driving recycle trucks or whatever could be spouses of Bermudians or now Status Bermudians through marriage, or PRC Holders for that matter? Now you claim they can't speak english or are not educated. Please, please, please with all due respect to you and everyone else, open your eyes and your minds before all of you continually complain about and bash all 'foreigners'in your midst. These 'foreigners' did not cause this economic crisis in Bermuda, whatever their reasons for being here. I wish that the Premier had not apologized because the truth does hurt! It amazes me that it is so acceptable to so many people in Bermuda to treat their fellow human beings in this way.

I think people are frustrated because it seems that the new government is moving quickly to fix the problems that affect foreigners and the business community and not to fix the problems affecting Bermudians. The OBA is kissing up to the business community and appease them and it looks like the problems affecting Bermudians just have to wait.

Of course international business needs to be taken care of as it is our bread and butter, but for the Bermudians who don't have jobs and are hungry, they get angry when they feel that nothing is being done to help them. When Gov't spoke about allowing the kids of foreigners to work, knowing full well that TONS of Bermudians need jobs, that was a real slap in the face. The OBA promised to be different but stuff like that shows they are out of touch just the way we all predicted. Even though they reversed that decision after a public outcry, it shouldn't have come to that-they should have known that it would bother people.

After watching that demonstration all I have to say is that if something isn't done soon about the issues that affect Bermudians in their own country, the riots will be coming. All you need is one person to go off it and start burning shi+ down and others will follow!!!

Simon Says: I agree with you that people are frustrated BUT what I find mind boggling frustrating is the fact that people just don't understand the simple economics of the situation in regards to International business. In order to fix the problems of Bermudians, Bermuda needs to stop the flow of International businesses leaving the Island and at the same time attract new International businesses to come here. This in turn creates a knock-on effect for employment for Bermudians (and 'foreigners') in a multitude of areas; schools, stores, landlords , office workers, domestic insurance, tourism, restaurants, construction, painting, trucking, etc., etc, etc. You said it yourself - it's our bread and butter. Hungry or not - Bermudians must realize this connection - there is no other industry, except the flagging Tourism industry in Bermuda to sustain Bermuda. We no longer sell onions! Hungry or not, the collective you have to make the connection or you will never eat or work again!! Please, please people understand this, it is simple economics!!! I for one do not want to see Bermuda sink! People are yelling and screaming at a government that is trying to do something for them and save this country. (Anyone who believes otherwise should check out the American news from last night about Detroit, Michigan and to see what it looks like when a community really goes broke. Humble yourselves and listen and learn.)

To say someone is a foreigner simply on their appearance is one of the reasons why the word xenophobia is being used.

I remember hearing Laverne Furbert saying on the radio last week that she knew that the person working in a particular establishment wasn't Bermudian because they didn't look like her. That's just pure racism!

Shame on you LaVerne and PLP MP's. YOu were standing so close to the Mic and you did nothing to calm the MOB. You could have scored some points. So much for your talk about showing respect. Today's mob has set the stage for the OBA addressing future mobsters .

Just a question, how many times in the past years BEFORE the economy declined did u hear our young people say "I'm not gonna stack shelves! I'm not gonna be no pizza delivery guy! Dats embarrassing! I'm NOT riding on de back of NO trash truck!" And ect! NOONE wanted those jobs, now that the economy is down in the dumps everyone fighting for jobs that nobody wanted back than! I am a young black bermudian and I have a good job that is very stressful but I am so lucky to have a job! I feel the government should put more money towards EDUCATING the youth so we can QUALIFY for the many jobs the foreigners are taking up!

Of course it matters. It's impossible to turn a blind eye to race my friend.

Fortunately we have statistical data, to help us determine when inequities exit. For instance look at the prison system. Approx 98% of the inmates are black. Was this important data to quantify?

Do you still think the color of ones skin shouldn't matter?

Nevertheless I do agree. "A Bermudian is a Bermudian, regardless of race." Although I'm quite certain some will have more pride than others. Pride in the justice system, pride in their community, pride in our leaders, and the pride which comes from a lineage of racial and economic superiority. To say the least.

I think the internet is one of our greatest creations. However one of its drawbacks is that it gives people who use the word "accurise" a platform to spew their idiocy amongst the wider population. 15 years ago that platform would have been limited to the small bar stool in the corner. @knowthyself - please put the keyboard down, you're really not helping.

We are seeing the beginning of a new era...more recently more pronounced and in high definition . What used to be the land of the 40 thieves is now the land of the corporate elitist. Actually second thought they're just working in conjunction with each other..Now now! I'm not saying this happened overnight except maybe to the casual observer. However it is clear this was a carefully planned and calculated strategy on behalf of the OBA and Corporate Bermuda. They're sharing in the spoils together (spoils system)...Not to mention they are now and/or soon to be granted status rights and more... And if all goes well the economy should start to rebound in a decade or so. Right? I suppose every convenience comes at an inconvenience and often those at the bottom will feel it the most.. And I'm not just speaking in dollars and sense.

@ wait a minute i am sure that the majority of the above mentioned have no relations in Bermuda, other than a paycheck. i am sure that the few who have married Bermudians (mainly from the white community) are doing just fine.

No different from the Canadians and Portuguese of the 80's and 90's.

You look around and open your eyes, i see it from North Shore to South Shore, Dockyard to St. Georges. Its only a matter of time before more jobs are squeezed from Bermudians.

What you are failing to realize is that soon Bermudians will be replaced in large numbers.

The excuse will be to save cost or no Bermudian qualified.

Look around just about every restaurant is 100% foreign staffed. Whens the last time you ate at a MEF restaurant?

If you truly believe B for Bermudians, you would open your eyes before its too late. Its not just black jobs anymore.

The Premier has spoken and the minister has also spoken and we have to respect their comments and give them the time needed to come through on the promises they are making,failing to do so we have a process by which we can remove them long before the next election.

I am satisfied with the press conference and what is being said and now we need action which dont take a whole year to swing things the other way.so to the minister and the Premier you have both spoken today and we will hold you accountable for what you have spoken and will hope that we as Bermuda and bermudians can benefit from the promises you say you will do.

If Laverne and Chris Furbert, were to shut up and spend more of there time doing there job, bermuda would be better off! Better yet if they went To the islands with brother Ewart we would be better off!

Please get the facts straight in asmuch,the Premier has no say or little say on any of the decisions that has been made to put buzz into all of his gas station establishments that he runs.

This was a decision allegetly made by the higher ups of Esso and this decision was made before O.B.A became government or Mr Cannonier becoming Premier,to go a step further I would say that it is alleged that Esso was not happy with the performance that the service stations were doing and basically dealt a heavy hand in which Mr Cannonier had very little say or none at all to the final decision.

This information was made public back in November of 2012 and when I took it to the news media,they told me I was speculating.now so much for speculating because we are now seeing buzz take over all Esso station fast food and only having one to two Bermudians on staff as required by law,so all the rest are foreigners,so what does that tell you.

One interesting comment by the Premier is that they as a government had sat down with all the movers and shakers when it came to talking about term limits and just like we saw under the P.L.P ,it looks like the movers and shakers are getting what they asked for including the restaurant division.

You may want to check your facts. "Mr. Premier" isn't replacing anything or anybody. Walk into any Esso that has a Tigermarket in this country, REGARDLESS who runs it, and see where Buzz is being placed!! I too have major issue with this but place the blame at the hnic, not the person running a few stations! Have you been in the Crawl station and spoken to any employees there lately? Last I checked "Mr. Premier" didn't own the Esso Station in Crawl!

People aren't marching for what they should be marching for probably due to ignorance of the information hidden in plain sight.

Wait til all the cuts take place in the US! Think Bermudians are gonna be able to secure a job making $12 an hour??? LMAO.....companies are gonna be lining up to leave BDA and therefore money will dry up like never before! Bermudians of all color better get used to working for minimum wage.

One way to remove the fear of foreigners. Get rid of all of them. Then we SKINKS will have the Bermuda we dream of. Lots of jobs. Nurses, Doctors, police, all types of jobs would be available. Bermuda for Bermudians.

Bermuda...look at yourself! You are a tiny island, isolated from the world. Look around you! Do you need a foreigner system to help build your economics, to rebuild the commerce system, place foreigner companies working, producing money, wasting money, on you? I bet you do. Open yourself to the world. Look out for major contracts that can reestablish your ground. Bring wealthy bussinesses to produce employment, wealthy families, a wealthy economy.. Don't close yourself for the world! You need it. What do you export? Rum?! You need to start thinking smart. Be yourself! Be you. Look back at your history! Who help established and educate you? YES YOU GUESSED NON BERMUDIANS.

The Premier apologized for the word 'xenophobia'- so when are the PLP going to apologize for using the language and divisive tactics they used while in power???? There are PLENTY of xenophobic hatemongers in Bermuda. As someone who doesn't 'look' Bermudian or 'talk' Bermudian, I had flyers put on my car saying 'expat go home' Sorry a-holes, but if the shoe fits, you better get used to the look.

I think it was 'nice' of the Premier to apologize, but really he shouldn't have. There are plenty of things the PLP owe us all an apology for, black and white alike. When will we hear THAT from them?? Right. Never. Let's see...the PLP painted all whites with the same brush of being racist, no apology there. They called anyone who dissented 'Uncle Toms' or 'House you-know-whats', no apology there. They ran our country into the ground economically- no apology there. They worked really really hard to divide our people- no apology there either. So my advice to the OBA would be don't apologize unless it really was a dirty word. Show some backbone and don't acquiesce to the lunatic fringe. They thrive on being marginalized, so let them be. You won't make everyone happy, so stop the kowtowing and get on with the business of getting us back on track.

Hey Pilot001, why don't YOU apologize for all the racist things that were said by the PLP over the last 14 years? Not to mention Dr Evil showing up in the HOUSE with his gangsters sitting there bullying the then Opposition for daring to question the MILLIONS of $$ spent on all of Mr & Mrs Brown's "music" concerts. Let's start with that. Then I'll remind you every once and a while of another instance. You will be apologing about 1,000 times so get ready.

I too wish to make an apology for using a word which many of those protesting yesterday may have reason to find offensive though I only whispered it in my bathtub last night - Xylophone. I am so ashamed of myself for having even thought this way and I prostate myself (yes, I still have mine)before all Concerned Bermudians. My only request before humbly submitting myself to any future Jacobin Committee Of Public Safety run by Mrs. Furbert and her peers is that my remorse and desire for re-education are sincere and I look forward to the day that all foreign musical instruments are banished from these shores.

The former Gov left Bda in such shambles that Bda will need to swallow some bitter pills to get Bda back on track. It will not be an easy road back to prosperity. Term limit removal is to kick start the economy and to tell the world that we are open for business. Get more qualified bodies here, they spend and put money in the economy for goods and services.As this grows so does Bda jobs and these Bermudians have money in their pockets and then they start spending. The wealth effect then starts to snowball. Basic economics 101. Get past party politics and open your eyes,it is all about the color of money.

I guess Bermudians are in the same boat as the people of Greece and Portugal aparently the thousands that are hitting the streets in protest marches have no idea of how thier country runs economically either

Bermudians Bermudians Bermudians smh, I am a plp supporter but dont know what is the big deal about the word "xenophobia". This is very correct bermudians need to eat humble pie for a few years. 10 years ago nobody wanted to wash dishes, work in a supermarket, work in a restaurant, landscape etc... but now you feel the pressure. Again i am a plp supporter but what Mr Premier said offended who? not me, foreigners are not getting drunk at captains on fridays and comming back work late. Bermudians had it too easy from birth and during hard times want to point the fingers at foreigners. I work in a government department that is always looking for locals which 90% cant pass the drug test but yet want to blame the white man smh. Do what i have always done since 12 years old and work, i done many jobs i hated but i knew it was only for a time period.